Finally — fireworks

Will Doran | The Sanford Herald
Before the adults began a cornhole tournament on Saturday at the Ammons Family fireworks show, 18-month-old Abram Kelly showed off his own cornhole skills.

Children and parents flocked to the inflatables at the Ammons Family fireworks show Saturday, getting their energy out before the fireworks began.

SANFORD —

The annual Ammons Family Fourth of July Fireworks show went off with a bang — albeit a delayed one — Saturday night.

The event morphed into a Labor Day celebration after being postponed week after week in July amid heavy rains. Despite the nearly two-month wait, revelers still seemed excited for the chance to see Lee County's biggest fireworks display. About 150 people had showed up by 5 p.m., which chief organizer Cindy Ammons said was a good sign.

"We're hoping for about as big a crowd as usual," Ammons said, "even though it is a little late."

Crissy Miller attended the event with her three children and her husband, Matt. She said they had never been to the Ammons' Independence Day show before (they always go to Cary instead, she said), and that with other families probably in the same boat, a permanent change may be in order.

"We were talking about how it would be cool if they would make this a tradition — Labor Day fireworks — depending on how many come out tonight," Miller said.

As those in attendance waited for the 9 p.m. display, they listened to local bands and played in a cornhole tournament while children bounced on the inflatables, had their faces painted or played in the mobile video game room. Refreshments were also available with a good amount of fellowship to boot — much of it among parents from Lee Christian School, who were seeking donations for the school's athletics program.

Event patrons were admitted for free but were asked to give donations, with proceeds being split between the Lee Christian boosters and the Wounded Warrior Project, which aids injured soldiers and their families. Steven Lane, president of the school's boosters, said the school is entering its second year in an official athletic conference and the number of teams fielded is increasing significantly, with many new sports at the middle school level.

"The school's growing, and we're growing with it," Lane said, noting that they'll field 18 or 19 teams this year, up from about a dozen two years ago. He said the addition of so many new teams has nearly doubled the athletic budget, and that the boosters are still responsible for funding just about all of it. For that reason, Lane said, he was very grateful to Cindy and Joel Ammons for the opportunity.